Oh, Bryson DeChambeau has heard recent comments directed at him from both Rory McIlroy and Brandel Chamblee.
And...?
“I think it’s great,” DeChambeau said Thursday at Bethpage Black, a day before he’s set to compete in his third Ryder Cup. “I think any time that people can throw stuff at me like that, I enjoy it. I appreciate it. I think it’s good for ultimately the game of golf because it starts to spur conversation on.”
Let’s start with Chamblee, who on Monday night during Golf Channel’s “Live From” show not only questioned the validity of DeChambeau’s YouTube following, nearly 2.5 million subscribers strong, but also DeChambeau’s prioritizing of the team over himself.
“No doubt he’s one hell of a golfer. No doubt he has his moments of generosity with fans; I have heard about them,” Chamblee said. “But he’s an odd duck when he’s trying to blend in with the team, and he has so many potential bulletin-board mistakes. I think he would be a captain’s nightmare.”
DeChambeau playfully responded to Chamblee earlier this week, asking a cameraman while he signed autographs, “Did Brandel say something yesterday?” He went into more depth on Thursday.
“Ultimately, on YouTube, you have to be verified to be able to subscribe and whatnot, so I don’t think it’s really that honest or true,” DeChambeau added. “But it is what it is. I mean, any time you can say something like that and create more buzz for the game of golf, it’s great.”
Same goes for his budding rivalry with McIlroy, which at this point is undeniable. After DeChambeau quipped earlier this summer that he’d be “chirping” in McIlroy’s ear, McIlroy said in a recent interview, “I think the only way he gets attention is by mentioning other people. That is basically what I think of that. To get attention he will mention me or Scottie or others.”
DeChambeau told Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis on Monday that he meant nothing by his previous comments about McIlroy before agreeing that while he thought there were rivalries between every player, he and McIlroy’s rivalry was “heightened.”
Needless to say, if DeChambeau drew McIlroy this week, he’d relish it.
“I think rivalries are good gore the game of golf, and albeit I have the ultimate respect for Rory as a player,” DeChambeau said. “It’s going to be fun to go up against him this week, whether it’s against him directly or through other players. I think it going to be a fun challenge this week. Would I love to go up against him? Yeah. It would be a lot of fun. Is it going to happen? It’s not likely. I mean, maybe once. You never know. I don’t know if there’s planning behind the scenes or whatnot.
“But look, he’s a fierce competitor, a great competitor, but one that I would love the opportunity to play against this week.”
McIlroy, also speaking Thursday to reporters and clearly not wanting to stir up any more drama, agreed.
“I promised Luke I would only talk about the European team today. I’m going to stick to it,” McIlroy said with a laugh. “No, look, I think, again, it’s so easy to play into narratives this week and to get swept up in this whole rivalries and Ryder Cup and whatever it is. All I want to do is go and try and put blue points on the board. I don’t care who it’s against. If I come up against Bryson at some point, I think that’s great. I think that’s wonderful for the championship and wonderful for us, as well, in some ways.”